Strife: The Greensleeves Murders/Issue 01
Issue 01 is the first issue of Case 01 of Strife: The Greensleeves Murders, It was written by CamTheWoot and was published on May 14th, 2014. ---- Issue 01 Next: Issue 02 ---- Lawrence ---- The sky was dark, the rain pored down upon the streets of London. The mist adding to the unsettling tone drafted by the disturbing nature of the scene. Two men stood atop the roof of a small office building, silhouetted by the ever changing lights emanating from the police cars surrounding them, the sirens ringing in their ears. "What do you think then lad?" Said the older man. Garbed with a crisp white shirt and a loose black neck tie. Covered over by a grey, tattered trench coat that ruffled in the wind. His grey trousers were held up by a pair of broken black braces. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the ashes onto the ground below him, running his fingers through his short graying hair. He had a tired look about him, like he hadn't taken a brake since the day he was born. "It-it's sick. I'm not sure if I can-" "Come on son, it was your choice to sign up here, you bloody handle it." The second man knelt down and closely examined the scene with a disturbed look in his green eyes. He was a young man, sickly looking, with tired eyes behind a pair of smart, round spectacles. He was overdressed for his age, with a neat brown tweed suit, clearly trying to make an impression upon his superior, although he suspected it wasn't working. "The- the head was severed in one swipe, evidenced by the... cut itself." He spoke in a shaken voice, quiet. He didn't want to be here. "Good lad, what else? Come on boy this seen is swimming!" He wasn't wrong. The severed head of a young woman laid before them, on it's own, no body to accompany it. It had been moved the the side, the eyes had been closed. A small note sat conspicuously next to it. "It was ceremoniously placed? It's clear the actual murder took place somewhere else." "Bloody hell Lawrence, stating the obvious isn't going to win you any points. The note what does it say?" The older man spoke in a gruff uncaring way. He'd seen things like this before, he'd grown accustomed to it in a way. Lawrence pulled a glove from his pocket and carefully picked up the note, taking immense care all the while. He slowly unfolded it, and scanned through it's contents. "Alas, my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously. For I have loved you well and long, delighting in your company." He coughed into his hand and placed it exactly where he found it. He looked over to his superior who seemed relatively unphased. He removed a box of cigarette's from his pocket, took one out and lit it, he held it up to his mouth and smoked, puffing a small cloud into the air. "Hmm, quaint. You know what the hell that's supposed to be?" "That's the first verse of Greensleeves sir. it's a favorite of mine." "Well aint that just randy friggin' dandy? We've got a killer who likes poetry. Heh that's new. Anyway, get back onto the scene, what else do you see? I'll make you worthy of that promotion if it kills me." Lawrence turned back around and stood up. He sighed, looking down onto it, slowly pacing around the grim discovery in front of him, he examined from all angles. The head was hardly cold, a young face with unkempt red hair, flowing down below her neck. "She couldn't possibly be any older than eighteen. Was she killed because of her age?" he thought to himself. He knelt down and closely examined the wound where her neck had been cut. He slowly prodded his gloved finger against the wound, quickly pulling it away. "The wound is fresh, she couldn't of been killed too long ago!" The older man shook his head with a grin on his face. "That's a big assumption Lawrence, she could have been dead for days. All you can prove is that she got the chop recently. We don't even know if the beheading is what killed her. Wait for forensics to figure out that bollocks. We're here to pic up the evidence, nothing else." "If it hasn't all been washed away that is." "Seriously boy? This place is bloody littered! The hell's the point of them glasses of yours if you can't see anything?! Look son, bloody look!" "There's nothing more, I can't see it!" "How can you not see it? Even from here I can see the ground under the head is wet, so she was put there in the last thirty minutes. Your recent wound lead is bollocks, it's dark and wet, like you can tell the difference between fresh blood and the water on the wound in these conditions! All things considered why isn't the note wet?! You need to consider everything boy! That's how you do the job!" Lawrence growled inaudibly and turned back to the crime scene. "Terrence is a dick but he has a point. Why was that note dry? It makes no sense." He picked up the note now soaking wet in the rain. "It must have been something to do with the position. That doesn't make any sense though." looking over at the ground below it, he realized it was wet, yet the note itself was dry. "Could the head have been covering it?" Lawrence asked. "Doubt it, look at the distance between them, even if the rain was coming from and angle it wouldn't have made a lick of difference." "Then how is it dry?" "I'll be honest with you lad, I don't know. It doesn't make a lick of goddamn sense but that's of the point. Don't rack your skull over it, get what we need so we can bugger off outta here." "You're going to be doing that yourself bloodhound!" A low pitched female voice rung from a distance. A middle woman climbed up onto the roof via a ladder of the side of the building. She was wearing a black business suit and trousers, the colors noticeably conflicted with her long, light brown hair and bright green eyes. "Ah, Lieutenant Myers. How nice to see you here, you here to discipline your halfwit brother for me?" Terrence chuckled in a rather unsettling, grizzly manner. "Quite the opposite Detective Brodmir, I'm here to remove him from your care. We've got important business, family matters you understand." "Hmm, quite so." He said stroking his short graying beard. "Everything alright, your father's fine I hope!" "Quite fine I assure you... You said that with quite a bit of venom didn't you? This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with your recent salary reduction now would it?" She said with a smile on her face. Detective Brodmir twitched in his right eye, making it rather obvious she struck a nerve. "Nothing at all. Now Rowena you best get out of here, attend to your matters and what not." "of course, Detective Brodmir. Lawrence! Come along." She said turning around. Lawrence walked past Detective Brodmir, resisting the smug grin, that would be rather appropriate for the situation. he silently watched has Brodmir sighed and knelt down, inspecting the scene on his own. At the bottom of the building, Rowena's police car sat around the corner, the two of them approached it and entered. "So, what's happened?" said Lawrence "Vincent had another... episode. This one particularly bad, he and Patrick are at the hospital." She said it in a particularly monotone way. Making it clear how limited her care for the whole situation is. "Bloody hell, what happened? Is Dad there?" "Of course he's not. I asked him he said something along the lines of "I'll consider it". As for what happened, I'm not too sure. Apparently Vincent walked over to the hospital and checked himself in." Lawrence remained silent, he looked down at his feet, while the light emanating from the street lamps flashed into his eyes every few seconds. "Vincent's a tough guy and he bloody hates hospitals. This must be pretty fucking bad." He looked back up, the motorway was oddly clear for this time of day. "So was the bloodhound giving you any trouble?" chuckled Rowena. "Why do you call him that?" "Because once Brodmir sniffs out a case, he never leaves it alone. Everyone at Homicide calls him bloodhound. Just... don't mention it in front of his daughter, he doesn't care but she probably would." "Oh bollocks yeah, we're going to be seeing her when we get there!" Lawrence gasped "Yeah, yeah we will. Now forgive me while I silently note your reaction." "Oh behave." "I'm just saying, Dad wouldn't mind you hooking up with a nurse. Hell the only partner of ours he ever liked was Anabel. Think about it, he hates Harry with a fiery passion, he hated your girlfriend... what was her name?" "Becky" "That's it, he still hasn't forgiven Patrick since he... came out. Like it's his bloody fault! I don't know, he treats Harry like shit, he has since we first got together." "Come on, Dad doesn't hate him." "He threatened to disinherit me if I didn't keep my name when we got married! He's always hated him. I'm just saying he would approve of you and Brodmir's daughter." "I suppose." Over the hill a small building came into view through the mist. A tiny wooden hospice, only a few cars in the car park, the palce was private. Only the rick could afford care. A large sigh reading "Pinehill Psychiatric Institution" was visible at the front. Rowena pulled the car to an empty space near the door and the two of them exited. "Christ, I really hope he's okay." muttered Lawrence and they walked towards the entrance. "Ever since Anabel died, Vincent's episodes have been worse. Now with Alice... I'm surprised the poor man's still stable." "He's had it bad, that's for sure. I have difficulty looking him in the eye nowadays." "Well you're going to have to." They approached two glass doors that opened automatically upon their arrival. A young woman wearing medical scrubs awaited their arrival at the door. She had a sickly look about her, looking much younger than she was, with neat black hair, combed into a long ponytail with a pink band. Unusually short for her age less the five foot for sure. Bobbing up and down, with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. Lawrence and Rowena approached her immediately. "Hello you two." She said in a cheerful voice. "How's Vincent? What's his condition?!" exclaimed Laurence "He's fine really, a bit off certainly but fine really. You'll be able to visit him a bit later. One visitor rules and what not and Patrick's already in there." "Oh thank God, I was worried." "Any chance you could show us to a waiting room in the meantime?" Asked Rowena, with a unusual grin on her face. "Of course. Follow me" The nurse said as she turned around. "Thank you...Nancy" To be continued... ---- Characters ---- Lawrence Myers Rowena Myers Terrence Brodmir Nancy Brodmir Arthur Myers (Mentioned) Vincent Myers (Mentioned) Alice Myers (Mentioned) Patrick Myers (Mentioned) Anabel Myers (Mentioned) Harry Martin (Mentioned) Becky (Mentioned) ---- Deaths ---- None. ---- Trivia ---- First appearance of Lawrence Myers First appearance of Rowena Myers. First appearance of Terrence Brodmir First appearance of Nancy Brodmir First mention of Alice Myers First mention of Patrick Myers First mention of Anabel Myers. First mention of Harry Martin First mention of Arthur Myers First mention of Becky Category:Issues Category:Strife: The Greensleeves Murders Issues Category:Strife: The Greensleeves Murders Category:Strife Issues Category:Strife Category:Pestilence Category:CamTheWoot